King of Europe: Joe Hountondji takes leadership in the ProSeries

Round 2 of the Federal Tyres King of Europe series took place under the scorching Spanish sun at the unique street layout for the 2017 season at Valencia Circuit. Having used two layouts on the track in previous years, this custom course provided the opportunity to make the task for the drivers even more challenging.

As the competition got tougher than ever, some of the most intense battles we’ve witnessed along with varied uneven surfaces provided drivers with the ultimate test – leaving the thousands of spectators on the edge of their seats.

It didn’t stop current King of Nations Champion Nicolas Delorme showing that he’s here to fight for the top European spot this year during qualification with a score of 90.75. His incredible runs saw him achieve the highest attack speed at 106km/h along with highest line and show points of the day.

Joe Hountondji kept the Team Driftbrothers flag flying high as he landed second place with 90.94 points. After taking second place at Round 1 to his brother Eli, he was undoubtedly eager to secure the top spot on the podium.

Dutch driver Rick Van Goethem’s impressive return to the series saw him land third place with 86.91 points, also achieving the highest average angle of the day.

Italian Massimo Checchin continued his fine form from Round 1 as he landed 4th place, with local drivers Jonathan Hernandez and David Infantes Cabeza in 5th and 6th.

Austrian Daniel Brandner took the top qualifying spot in the Pro2 series, whilst Karolina Pilarczyk once again sealed the spot in the Queen of Europe series.

After taking second place at Round 1 to his brother Eli, Joe Hountondji was more desperate than ever to return to the top spot in the battles and he did so in fine style after an epic battle in the final against French King of Nations Champion and first place qualifier Nicolas Delorme.

Dutch driver Rick Van Goethem continued to prove that he’s here to fight with the best this season as he took a hard-earned third place spot on the podium – defeating on-form local driver Jesus Sanchez in the small final.

In the Pro2 series, French driver Axel Francois was fresh off his Japan trip with King of Nations to take the top spot with Swiss driver Raffaele Zanato in second and Austrian Brandy Brandner in third.

Karolina Pilarczyk took her second back-to-back win in the Queen of Europe series, with local drivers Alicia Rodriguez in second and Rebeca Coca in third.

This now means that Joe Hountondji takes his place on the top spot of the ProSeries rankings, with fellow Team Driftbrothers driver Eli in second. King of Nations Champion continues his push to fight for the European title in third and Rick Van Goethem’s consistency puts him in fourth.

Daniel Brandner takes the top spot in the Pro2 series with French driver Axel Francois in second and Gunther Denk in third. Rafaelle Zanato’s second place spot this weekend moves him up to fourth place, currently level on points with Denk.

Two consecutive wins for Karolina Pilarczyk mean that she currently stands at the top of the Queen of Europe series with Czech driver Michaela Sacherova in second and Alicia Mendez in third. With the expected return of ex-Champion Danielle Murphy imminent in the series, can she return to cause an upset?

Next up, on 3rd-4th June the 2017 Federal Tyres King of Touge series begins as we prepare to return to the closed streets of the French alps which is a favourite for the fans and drivers alike – Chapelle du Bard!

Just one week later we continue the Federal Tyres King of Europe Pro, Pro2 and Queen of Europe series at once of the craziest and fastest tracks on the calendar – Anneau du Rhin. As the Championship gets more intense than ever, we can undoubtedly expect to see some incredible battles once again!